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Human Space Flight Day: UN spotlights the need to advance exploration

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Marking International Day of Human Space Flight, the United Nations on Sunday spotlighted the contribution of space science and technology to sustainable development and underscored the need to push the boundaries of exploration for the benefit of all people.

I am confident that the International Day of Human Space Flight will remind us of our common humanity and our need to work together to conquer shared challenges, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on the Day marked worldwide on 12 April. I hope it will also inspire young people in particular to pursue their dreams and move the world towards new frontiers of knowledge and understanding, the UN chief added. In 2011, the General Assembly declared 12 April International Day of Human Space Flight to reaffirm the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development. The Assembly also expressed interest in promoting and expanding the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. This day, 12 April back in 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration. Yuri Gagarins journey as the first human in space 54 years ago has inspired us all to advance the boundaries of exploration, said United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Director, Simonetta Di Pippo. To mark the day, UNOOSA has launched the fourth edition of its Messages from Space Explorers, a collection of messages from Space Explorers serving as a memorabilia of their contribution and inspiration to future generations. Recording the messages of the many men and women who have travelled into space allows us to commemorate the role these people have played as Ambassadors for humankind, said Di Pippo. The new edition available on UNOOSAs website in six different languages - contains messages from space explorers from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. One of the featured explorers, Scott Kelly is currently on a one year mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which started on 28 March 2015. The autograph album also contains a copy of the signed sheets received from 57 other space explorers from 20 nations, among which Valentina Tereskhova of Russia, the first woman in space, and Charles F. Bolden, the current NASA Administrator, and copy of the autographs of Yuri Gagarin, and Edward H. White, the first American to walk in space. Photo: NASA

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Human Space Flight Day: UN spotlights the need to advance exploration

Remembering First Man in Space 54 Years Ago

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April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight, marking the day in 1961 when 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the world's first man in space.

His historic single orbit around Earth, while crouched in the Vostok 1 spacecraft at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour, lasted only 108 minutes, but ushered in a new chapter of history - space travel.

Before Gagarin's flight, space travel had been the purview of science fiction writers.

Gagarin had no control over his spacecraft while it was orbiting. It was instead controlled by a computer program sending radio commands to the Vostok. However, a key had been placed in the spacecraft in case Gagarin needed to take command.

Premier Nikita Krushchev named Gagarin a hero of the Soviet Union, and Gagarin, who became an international hero, was dubbed "the Christopher Columbus of the Cosmos."

His flight during Cold War tensions sent the American space program into a frenzy. The Soviet Union had said the space flight was an affirmation of "the genius of the Soviet people."

Less than a month later, U.S. astronaut Alan Shepherd became the first American in space. In February of the next year, U.S. astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.

Gagarin died in a plane he was piloting in 1968. At the time of his death, he was training for a second space mission.

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Remembering First Man in Space 54 Years Ago

Russian official claims 'enemy' spy satellite network discovered

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MOSCOW, April 12 (UPI) -- A Russian official claimed the country detected a network of "enemy" spy satellites disguised as space junk during a film televised Sunday.

Russian Aerospace Defense Commander Maj. Gen. Oleg Maidanovich made the remarks during the 40-minute, state-produced film Space Special Forces shown on the defense ministry channel Zvezda.

"Very recently, specialists of the department of space intelligence center uncovered a newly created group of space satellites... made for radio-technical reconnaissance of equipment on Russian territory," Maidanovich said. He declined to say who the satellites belonged to, stating "there is currently no necessity to do so."

The film was released to commemorate the space flight of cosmonaut Yury Gagarin on April 12, 1961.

Although tensions between Russia and the West have been escalating recently, outer space cooperation, including for the International Space Station, has continued.

The film's narrator described the spy satellites as being turned off for a certain time and then awaking when needed.

"One talks of peaceful satellites, but there are known cases when groups of potential enemy satellites formed against our satellites, above our territory... There are cases when a space satellite pretends to be space junk for years and then wakes up and starts working at the right moment."

Maidanovich said that when spy satellites are discovered, his division reports it to Russian leadership for decisions to be made at international levels.

2015 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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Russian official claims 'enemy' spy satellite network discovered

Himalayan Disasters – NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Goddard Space Flight Center – Video

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Himalayan Disasters - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Goddard Space Flight Center
DEVELOP is a NASA Science Mission Directorate Applied Sciences training and development program. Interns work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisors from NASA and...

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Himalayan Disasters - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Goddard Space Flight Center - Video

Southwest Health & Climate – NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Marshall Space Flight Center – Video

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Southwest Health Climate - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Marshall Space Flight Center
DEVELOP is a NASA Science Mission Directorate Applied Sciences training and development program. Interns work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisors from NASA and...

By: NASA DEVELOP National Program

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Southwest Health & Climate - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Marshall Space Flight Center - Video

Alabama Water Resources – NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Marshall Space Flight Center – Video

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Alabama Water Resources - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Marshall Space Flight Center
DEVELOP is a NASA Science Mission Directorate Applied Sciences training and development program. Interns work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisors from NASA and...

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Alabama Water Resources - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Marshall Space Flight Center - Video

Idaho Disasters II – NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Goddard Space Flight Center & BLM ISU – Video

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Idaho Disasters II - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Goddard Space Flight Center BLM ISU
DEVELOP is a NASA Science Mission Directorate Applied Sciences training and development program. Interns work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisors from NASA and...

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Idaho Disasters II - NASA DEVELOP Spring 2015 @ Goddard Space Flight Center & BLM ISU - Video

4K 60FPS Fast Colorful Glass Discs Space Flight Animation Background Effect 2160p – Video

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Honored by Alabama Legislature; Lawmakers Learn About Journey to Mars

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The Alabama Legislature honored NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, today and heard about work on the Space Launch System and other technology being developed to carry explorers deeper into space than ever before, to asteroids and on to Mars.

Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann, astronaut Scott Tingle, and Robert Hillan, a high-school senior from Enterprise, Alabama, met with Gov. Robert Bentley, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey and other officials during "NASA Alabama Aerospace Day" at the Alabama State House in Montgomery. They also visited the Alabama House and Senate Chambers, where proclamations were read recognizing NASA and the Marshall Center's contributions to the state's economy, education and history, as well as to the nation's space program.

"We're very proud to continue a partnership with the State of Alabama that began with the creation of the Marshall Center in 1960," Scheuermann said. "Here, together, we made it possible for mankind to take the first steps into space and onto the surface of the moon. Today, together, we are building the rockets and making discoveries that will make it possible for explorers to stand on Mars."

Marshall has always made partnerships a priority and is a well-known leader in efforts to promote the participation of small business in NASA's programs. On April 7, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden honored Marshall with the Small Business Administrator's Cup -- the fourth time the center has earned the cup in the award's seven-year history.

"I am very proud the Marshall team has again been recognized for reaching out to work with the small business community across Alabama and the country," Scheuermann said. "We know that, in addition to creating jobs and benefiting the economy, partnerships with small businesses are essential to our mission success."

The theme of the 2015 NASA Alabama Aerospace Day and activities is "Join us on the journey." NASA's mission success depends on a partnership among government, industry, business and academia to develop the technology and skills needed for a journey to Mars, and for the ongoing journey of discovery.

Hillan, though still in high school, is helping develop the skills and technology that will enable deep-space missions. He was the first-place winner in the national Future Engineers 3-D Printing in Space Tool Challenge in January. Later this year he will visit the Marshall Center to watch, alongside mission controllers in the Payload Operations Integration Center, as his Multipurpose Precision Maintenance Tool is 3-D printed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

"Today's students are tomorrow's space travelers," said Niki Werkheiser, 3-D print project manager at the Marshall Center. "The tool Robert designed and the tests we are doing aboard the space station are the first steps toward the 3-D print-on-demand kind of 'machine shop' that we must have on long-duration space missions."

NASA Alabama Aerospace day is part of 2015 Aerospace Week activities that included visits by Marshall Center representatives to schools and Boys and Girls Clubs in Montgomery, and a career fair April 7 at Alabama State University.

On April 8, the Alabama-NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Procurement Suppliers Conference was presented by the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama State University Small Business Development Center. Marshall Center managers spoke about how businesses can partner with NASA for work on the Space Launch System and other programs.

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Honored by Alabama Legislature; Lawmakers Learn About Journey to Mars

The TRMM rainfall mission comes to an end after 17 years

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IMAGE:TRMM observes the 3-D rain structure of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 28, 2005, including the red spikes known as hot towers that appear where the storm is most intense. The... view more

In 1997 when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM, was launched, its mission was scheduled to last just a few years. Now, 17 years later, the TRMM mission has come to an end. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stopped TRMM's science operations and data collection on April 8 after the spacecraft depleted its fuel reserves.

TRMM observed rainfall rates over the tropics and subtropics, where two-thirds of the world's rainfall occurs. TRMM carried the first precipitation radar flown in space, which returned data that were made into 3-D imagery, enabling scientists to see the internal structure of storms for the first time.

TRMM also carried a microwave imager, a state-of-the-art instrument that had the highest resolution images of rainfall at the time. Together with three other sensors - the Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS), the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument - scientists used TRMM data to explore weather events, climate, and Earth's water cycle.

The cutting-edge TRMM instruments arrived in orbit at the right time to take advantage of the explosion of computing power and major advances in data-sharing.

"In the early 1990s, sharing data consisted of nine-track data tapes in the mail," said research meteorologist George Huffman at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "By the time you got to the 2000s, it became possible to actually share data online. Once we got that piece in place, people were asking, 'Oh, can you send me that data?' Eventually they wanted to see it all the time."

Scientists at Goddard originally intended TRMM's data to be used purely for precipitation research, but before long, people and organizations outside NASA were using it for a variety of purposes.

"The data were being heavily used for tropical cyclone monitoring and forecasting," said TRMM Project Scientist Scott Braun at Goddard. "It was being used for flood detection and monitoring. It was also used for drought monitoring, disease monitoring -- where diseases are most prevalent in areas of heavy precipitation and flooding."

The scientific community considered TRMM's data so critical to research and many practical applications that in 2001, at the end of TRMM's primary mission, NASA wanted to extend the mission for as long as possible.

TRMM's original flight altitude was optimized for the precipitation radar. To obtain precipitation profiles through the depth of the lower atmosphere and to concentrate the measurements in the tropics, the orbit was confined to 35 degrees north to 35 degrees south latitude at an altitude of 350 km (217.5 miles). At this altitude, Earth's atmosphere is still sufficiently dense to cause drag on the spacecraft, slowing it down, which progressively lowers its altitude.

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The TRMM rainfall mission comes to an end after 17 years


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